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St George’s general manager of mortgage broking, Clive Kirkpatrick, describes the bank’s recent policy changes and what the lender plans for its brokers in the future
WHAT DO THE NEXT 12 MONTHS HOLD FOR ST GEORGE?
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We have made a lot of changes recently and we have no intention of slowing down any time soon.
Over the past few months, we have recruited new business development mangers, employed additional back-end staff and changed the way brokers talk to support staff about their own credit scenarios.
We made the changes to improve our turnaround times and I can safely say we have managed to do just that.
As of [late August], we were consistently approving conditionally all applications within 24 hours.
This has come down significantly over the last few months, which indicates that the changes we are making are the right changes and are having the desired effect.
We have also recently appointed a new CEO, George Frazis, and we are hopeful Mr Frazis will breathe new life into the bank and its various distribution channels.
Over the coming 12 months, we will continue to walk down the path we have travelled to date and make changes to our policy, processes and pricing to ensure they remain market leading.
We want to ensure we stay one step ahead of the competition and, as such, we have plans to ramp up our ‘Flame’ offering and enhance the benefits our brokers are currently receiving.
We will re-ignite our ‘Flame’ offering within the next year.
We were one of the first banks to segment our broker channel and deliver our top performing brokers much-deserved business benefits. Over the last few years, other lenders have caught up with us and are offering similar benefits to their top performing brokers.
HOW DID YOUR RECENT ROADSHOWS SUPPORT WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN DOING?
The roadshows were great because they showed us that the changes we have made to date are having the desired effect.
Of particular note were the changes we have made to our scenarios team. Over the last few months, we changed the way brokers deal with enquiries.
Instead of calling through to the call centre, we have allowed brokers to directly call credit managers and discuss their credit scenarios with the decision makers.
This has not only slashed turnaround times but made both our brokers and borrowers happy.
But while the roadshows highlighted how successful our various policy and process changes have been to date, they also revealed the areas that require further work.
For example, we know we need to improve turnaround times further still and so we are currently in the process of upgrading all of the PCs used by our credit managers and call centre employees.
We also know we need to educate brokers on how to use our new servicing calculators and, as such, we are currently sending our BDMs out on the road to help train brokers on how to use them.
YOU RECENTLY APPOINTED SANDI SIMS AS NSW STATE MANGER. HOW HAS THIS ENHANCED YOUR BROKER PROPOSITION?
Since Sandi’s appointment, we have seen a huge spike in loan applications.
This can be attributed to a variety of things. Firstly, Sandi is an industry stalwart and has 13 years’ experience in the broking channel. As such, she has great relationships with an array of brokers and other industry stakeholders.
We have been able to leverage these relationships to generate new business for the company.
Secondly, Sandi brings a fresh approach to the business. She has helped us reinvigorate the way we do business, which can only be a good thing.
Since Sandi’s appointment, we have seen the number of loan applications increase to between 70 and 80 each day.
At one point, we hit 121 applications in a single day – this is a huge leap from where we were sitting and we are confident we can continue on this trajectory into the future.
WHICH MARKET SEGMENTS ARE DOMINANT AT THE MOMENT?
We have definitely seen an increase in investor clients coming through the door of late. According to our statistics, investor activity is up three per cent, while refinancing activity is up one per cent.
The other area of increased activity is self-managed super funds (SMSFs).
We are currently hosting a lot of education seminars on this topic for brokers as there seems to be an increasing number of borrowers who are interested in this area.
ARE THERE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE FOR BROKERS? IF SO, WHERE?
Absolutely! There are a lot of business opportunities for brokers at the moment.
I think the SMSF space is really lifting.
Borrowers are interested in this market and want to discuss their options with a financial adviser. Brokers are in a great space to discuss SMSFs with their clients.
Not only are they financial advisers but they have, in many instances, already established a trusted relationship with the clients that are looking into SMSFs and so are in the right position to offer them advice and guidance.
